


Days Off

by hangstzo



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Fluff, M/M, Omnic Crisis, Strike Team era, Young Fareeha "Pharah" Amari, brief cameo of the Reyes Family, by young i mean A BABY, hello welcome to my ted talk about how much i love the strike team, let these people rest please, me? writing something without any angst? more likely than you'd think
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-29 05:44:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14466279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hangstzo/pseuds/hangstzo
Summary: Days off are like meteor showers. They only happen a few times a year and when they do, you're usually asleep.The Strike Team take a well deserved, peaceful few days off. Until Ana brings her excitable daughter to meet the team





	Days Off

The lives of the strike team moved like clockwork. Briefings, strategising, simulations, weapons checks, medical checks, deployment, missions, medical checks, debriefing, psychiatric checks and press conferences before it all started again. They functioned on a probably unhealthy few hours of sleep a night and a definitely unhealthy amount of caffeine, except Ana who was rarely seen without a flask of fragrant smelling tea. It wasn’t uncommon for one of them to start to doze off during the press conferences, normally it was Reinhardt.

Jack had passed out mid sentence once, slumping forward in his seat, much to the journalists’ concern. Gabriel had had to explain, between hysterical laughter, that none of them had slept in the last three days while they fought to shut down the omnic forces in Detroit. He never let him forget that conference but now made sure to check the blonde had managed to catch a few hours of sleep before going in front of the cameras.

Days off were few and far between but when they did happen, the strike team would find the nearest armchair, couch, or large cushion and just fall asleep. Gabriel would always be the last to collapse into sleep. He had made a promise to his mother to video call her whenever he had the chance. There was no better way to calm down after a mission than to talk to his parents and sisters. They were gentle and funny, talking to him in happy Spanish, telling him all about Lucía’s wedding plans ( _“You're coming to the wedding, okay_ hermanito _?”_ ), Dina’s latest rescue ( _“She lost her tail somehow but she’s so fluffy Gabi, you'll love her!”_ ) and stories of what trouble Gloria’s son was up to ( _“He didn’t mean to break the vase mama, he’s taking after his_ tío _.”_ ) as well as the neighbourhood gossip from his mother ( _“That Carmen girl got into medical school today! You remember her,_ cariño _, you babysat her brother?”_ ) and updates on his father’s high school team ( _“I’ve got a draft potential this year_ mijo _, his scoring records are up there with yours.”_ ). He missed them all, the kind of chaos found in the Reyes household would not last two seconds in the organised world of the strike team.

After the call, Gabriel went to find Jack. The man would always find the smallest and most awkward place to sleep but eventually he found him, curled up against one of the couches in the common room. He laughed, shaking his head. “Are you asleep Jackie?” he whispered, crouching down in front of him.

“I _was_ ,” Jack grumbled, blinking up at him sleepily with that frown that Gabriel always found adorable. He stretched, wincing as he moved out of what must have been an uncomfortable position. “How’s your family?”

Gabriel grinned, slumping into the couch and patting the space beside him. “They’re fine. Dee’s found another kitten.”

With a laugh, Jack pulled himself up and settled himself by his side, as he should be. “That girl just attracts small fluffy animals,” he said, resting his head on Gabriel’s shoulder. “Now angel, we’ve gotfourteen hours left of this day off and I intend to sleep. Good plan?”

“And I thought I was the genius strategist here.” He smiled, stifling a yawn as he ran his fingers through his husband’s hair. They were technically still newlyweds, having eloped ten months ago, the thought of which reminded Gabriel that he really did need to tell his family about that. He rested his head back against the couch, eyes closed. “Good plan, _mi alma_.”

 

Out of everybody on the strike team, Ana had the most time off. Not all their missions required a sniper and sometimes it was impossible to bring one so she often disappeared for a few days. Her presence was missed, particularly by Reinhardt who seemed to mope about their base in her absence. Today, the sniper’s return coincided with a rare weekend off for the strike team. None of them had any plans, except Liao who was getting on the first flight home to China, and Gabriel was looking forward to just lazing about with Jack. Maybe they would watch a movie. The latest in their favourite action series had just come out and they hadn’t been able to find the time to sneak out of the base to see it.

But then Captain Amari walked back into base holding a four year old girl by the hand and the entire base was thrown into chaos. None of the higher ups had any idea of what to do with a noncombatant, let alone a child. But Ana ignored all of it and walked past them with her head held high, heading for the strike team’s common room. When she entered, Gabriel almost started laughing at Jack’s shocked expression. “Ana! Uh, who’s this?”

The little girl stared at the four men in front of her, her head tilted to one side as she absently fiddled with the strap of her superhero-themed backpack. They must look weird to her, Gabriel realised. His nephew was three and Gloria had told him that he could not understand that people could be as tall as Reinhardt. Children saw the world so differently to their parents. To her credit, the girl stayed quiet, taking them all in, until Ana crouched down beside her and squeezed her hand. “Say hello _habibti_.”

“Fareeha Amari reporting for duty!” The little girl started to giggle and saluted them, with the wrong hand mind you but it was adorable and therefore didn’t matter. Her hair was in two short braids with golden beads woven into them. It was obvious she was Ana’s daughter, she was the absolute image of the woman. She beamed at the little group of stunned soldiers, bouncing a little. They stared back, clearly attempting to work out the connection between Fareeha and Ana and then trying to figure out what to do with the small girl.

Gabriel broke the silence by standing and returning the salute. “Private Amari, you are to be off duty for the weekend,” he said, smiling as he walked over. He liked kids, it wasn’t like he had ever had any choice in the matter with his large family and a half dozen younger cousins. The girl stared up at him in some form of wonder as he winked at her. “Let me introduce you to the troops. My name is Gabriel, that’s my Jack, over there is Torbjörn, and that’s-”

“Reinhardt!” Little Fareeha squealed, excitedly pointing at the surprised Crusader. “Papa said you're the coolest!”

Ana huffed, arms crossed as her daughter ran over to the German, who practically lifted her with one hand onto his shoulder, laughing at her giggles as she immediately ran her fingers through his long hair. The sniper sighed. “I need to talk to Sam about the opinions he’s subjecting our daughter to.”

“I agree, though I don’t know who Sam is,” Jack piped up from his seat. His voice was slow, like it usually was when he was doing his best not to start yawning. “I’m obviously the coolest, aren’t I Gabe?”

Gabriel smiled back. “Keep telling yourself that goldie.” He turned to Ana, chuckling at his husband’s betrayed gasp, which soon turned into a yawn as his attempts to stifle it failed. “So. A daughter would have been something most of us would tell someone about.”

“She lives in Canada with her father while I’m on missions.” The sniper kept her attention on her daughter, watching Reinhardt swing her around as Fareeha shrieked in joy. She turned back to him, head tilted, and fixed him with that stare, the one that seemed to almost see through his soul. “There’s no problem, is there, _Jabril_?” Her tone made it clear that there was no question about it, her stare almost daring him to say otherwise.

Gabriel shook his head, wincing slightly at the stare. “Not with me. Just not sure what we’ll do with a child on a military base.”

Ana waved a hand, her expression softening as her daughter hugged Reinhardt, giggling hysterically. “She’s four,” she said absently, “She can and will amuse herself with just a pencil or something.”

Within an hour, Fareeha had become everyone’s new favourite person. Reinhardt adored her, nicknaming her ‘ _vögelchen_ ’ almost immediately. Jack, who was never entirely sure what to do with a kid, happily entertained her little games, running around the base with her. Torbjörn even allowed her to explore his workshop, with Ana watching from the door to make sure she didn’t hurt herself. Gabriel, who had two younger sisters and years of babysitting experience under his belt, had always gotten on with children and Fareeha was no different. She chatted to him, proudly showing him her little superhero figures and telling him all about them. When he suggested that the superheroes go on a mission, the girl’s face lit up. Seconds later, she was giving all the figures voices while he was given the vital role of the villain.

The original plan to relax and do nothing for their entire weekend off was soon replaced with looking after and playing with Fareeha. After four hours of playing with her, Gabriel was more exhausted than he had been after their last weeklong mission. He could see Reinhardt’s enthusiasm waning as the tiny Amari bothered him into another piggyback ride. She had endless reserves of energy, the kind that he could only achieve after several cups of coffee and a few too many of those sweets Ana hated so much.

It was Jack who managed to get her to sit still for longer than five minutes with the magical words of, “Hey darling, have you ever seen those old Disney films?”

Before any of them knew what was happening, the strike team were sprawled out on the couches, watching ‘Brave’. Fareeha was sitting on Reinhardt’s lap on the floor and the two of them were watching the movie in awe. Ana was slumped in an armchair, fast asleep with her hat slightly tipped over her eyes. Torbjörn snuck off to his workshop halfway through the film, attempting to leave without alerting the girl and succeeding. Gabriel and Jack lay across the couch, the latter half-dozing on his husband’s lap while the former drifted between sleep and watching the little Scottish princess be more badass than he could ever hope to be. Only Fareeha’s occasional excited gasps kept them awake, much to Jack’s apparent annoyance. His patience with the girl was starting to fade as the exhaustion set in. The man hadn’t slept in twenty six hours, he had been running on the adrenaline from biotic fields and whatever caffeine was left in those disgustingly milky mugs of coffee he had been drinking all day.

Gabriel must have dozed off at some point because he woke to the sensation of someone pulling on his sleeve. Groaning, he rubbed his eyes as they got used to the light and turned to look down at Fareeha. Reinhardt must have fallen asleep and now she had decided to come to him. The girl was staring up at him, wide eyed and clutching a small stuffed bird tightly. “Hey there _niñita_ ,” he whispered, trying his best not to disturb Jack who was now snoring softly, “You okay?”

“Scary.” The little girl shook her head and pointed to the screen where, inexplicably, there was now a huge bear threatening the princess. How long had he been asleep? The bear roared and Fareeha let out a small whine, burying her face in her teddy. “I don’t like it!”

From experience, Gabriel knew he had approximately three minutes to do something before the girl started to cry and woke everyone up. As gently as possible, he manoeuvred his legs out from underneath Jack, successfully avoiding waking him, and picked up Fareeha. She clung to him, her little hands digging into his broad shoulders. The bear roared again, causing the princess to scream, and he could feel the girl tense up in his arms. “Aw, _pobrecita_ ,” he murmured, rubbing her back. “Hey Athena, can you turn down the volume on the holoscreen?”

“ _Of course, Commander Reyes_.” The AI voice rang out as the sound of the film began to fade to a just audible setting. Fareeha looked up and around, trying to figure out where the voice was coming from, her brow furrowed in concentration. It was funny, you could practically hear her brain trying to work it out, or at least it was funny to his fairly sleep deprived mind. Gabriel ruffled her hair, smiling. “That’s just Athena, she kind of controls everything around here.”

Fareeha seemed content by this answer, judging by her timid nod. The movie was now just quiet enough to be able to successfully ignore it and the girl buried her head in his chest, sighing softly. “Sleepy,” she mumbled, “Night night Gabe.”

He frowned and looked down at her. He was suddenly unable to move from his slightly uncomfortable position. Fareeha was curled up against him, holding onto his shirt with a surprisingly firm grip for such a small girl. She was so much like her mother, who definitely wouldn’t appreciate being woken up now. With a sigh, he resigned himself to being stuck with the child and began to stroke her hair. “Night kid. Sweet dreams.”

 

A clicking sound woke Gabriel from his well earned, and not long enough, sleep. He opened his eyes, unsure of what he would find, but was faced with a flash. Groaning, he covered his eyes and extended his middle finger towards the source. “Put that fucking camera away Ana.”

Ana gasped and slapped his face, resulting in a familiar burst of laughter from Jack. “Not in front of my daughter,” the woman scolded, only sounding half serious. “You should be setting a good example, _Jabril_.”

Fareeha was still lying on top of him, breathing softly, peacefully. It brought everything into light. This was why they were fighting this war against the Omnics. For the children who deserved better than to live in a world of conflict. Children like Fareeha, like his nephew, who deserved a future of peace. It broke his heart to know that there were kids living in the war zones, and he knew they did as he had once had to carry a screaming toddler out of the line of fire in Nigeria. The boy’s screaming still echoed in his worst dreams. If there was any reason for them to keep fighting this goddamn war, it was to keep those kids safe.

“Penny for your thoughts Gabe,” Jack said as he sat beside him, gently pushing Fareeha’s hair out of her face. The girl stirred and yawned, opening her eyes to stare at him. She looked confused for a moment, perhaps before remembering where she was, then settled back to dozing on Gabriel’s chest. Jack laughed and lay his head on his shoulder. “Doesn’t look like you’re going to be doing much today.”

Shaking her head, Ana stepped forward to pick up her daughter, holding her close. “I’ll free you from her grasp,” she said, rolling her eyes, but there was a soft smile on her face. “Come on _habibi_ , there’s beds far softer and warmer than sleeping on Gabriel.” As she carried her away, Fareeha gave the soldiers a sleepy wave from over her mother’s shoulder. They waved back.

Gabriel looked down at Jack, who was still leaning against him. He smirked and ruffled his hair, much to the other man’s annoyance. “I’ve been freed, apparently. How about we go over the tactics for the next mission?”

“Dear God, _no._ ” Jack groaned, looking up at him with a very grumpy expression. “It’s our day off, we are doing absolutely nothing except sleep for as long as Fareeha allows us. Good plan?”

“Better than mine.” Gabriel smiled and leaned down to kiss his forehead before shifting into a more comfortable position, putting his arms around Jack. “Someone else can save the world for a change.”

**Author's Note:**

> TRANSLATIONS  
> hermanito-Spanish, little brother  
> tío-Spanish, uncle  
> cariño-Spanish, sweetie  
> mijo-Spanish, son  
> mi alma-Spanish, my soul  
> habibti-Arabic, my love  
> vögelchen-German, little bird  
> niñita-Spanish, little girl  
> pobrecita-Spanish, poor thing  
> habibi-Arabic, baby
> 
> IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I WROTE ABOUT THIS GANG OF IDIOTS  
> School has been absolutely murdering me for the last few months (final year of a levels yay) and I've been working on this for so long. I finally found the motivation (in the form of some fanmade Critical Role soundtracks) I needed to finally fucking finish it. I just needed some cute family dynamic stuff with the strike team and I LOVE the idea of Gabe absolutely doting on Fareeha. Also had a lil cameo from the Reyes family who are all amazing and ridiculous and none of them are allowed near an oven except for his father. They may pop up in something in the future.  
> I have a lot of plans for more fics don't worry! Once these exams are over I'll get right back into them, especially into my Blackwatch ideas.


End file.
